Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a versatile material which has been used in a variety of market segments, ranging from building constructions, medical and consumer care, commercial graphic printing to interior or exterior decoration for automobile, residential and commercial buildings. In order to improve the flexibility of PVC material, plasticizers are typically incorporated into PVC formulations. However, plasticizers typically used in flexible PVC formulations are phthalate compounds, and often migrate out over time.
Alternative additives which would provide mechanical strength, flexibility, dimensional stability, and weatherability would be useful in the field.